"Hope is my catalyst."

“We are all respectively great at something, so have a conversation with others because talent talks.”

I firmly believe we are all destined in this universe to be “good” at something, whatever that may be. It can be singing, dancing, writing or whatever. I do not think everyone is meant to be good at everything, as this logically does not make sense.

We all are supposed to specialize if you use this train of thought. And by specializing, I mean we are supposed to hone in and nurture that which is appropriate for us. Again, whatever that may be.

Sure, we all would like to dabble in more things and expand our horizons. We all would like to try some things to see if we can be at least decent. That’s fine. But to achieve true mastery of a craft, to the point where it can be deemed a “talent,” goes into a different threshold altogether.

Sure, for me as an example, I picked up cooking over the years. Both out of genuine curiosity and as a necessity to save myself from a bad situation or two, cooking became a random wild card out of this deck of cards called life.

By all means, I would say I can cook now. And my ‘can’ these days definitely reflects a lot of personal perseverance and keeping my passion strong toward this culinary stuff. I legitimately, though pleasantly, surprise myself when I really pour my heart and soul into what I am doing.

In this case, it’s on a plate.

I am decent in a lot of ways, but I have a lot to improve on if I ever want to be deemed a “talented” cook, let alone the real goal of being called a proper chef. As a result, I just have to keep trying to learn as much as I can, no matter how long it takes, when it comes to this cooking art.

After all, you just have to keep an open mind. Otherwise, you plateau yourself because you set these mental limitations. You don’t want to peak too early, right?

I think this is truly the mistake I made years ago in all kinds of facets. Basically, I put the ceiling above myself too low. I thought I was ready and knew everything I needed to know, but it is good to keep yourself always invested and willing to go that extra mile, so to speak.

I recall back in the early years of college when I thought I knew “a lot” about English stuff, like grammar and vocabulary. Turns out, and this truly shocked me on an emotional level, I was quite average compared to some other kids. Sure, I was more than above average when compared to a regular student, but I met some really talented people who could run circles around me when it came to the English language.

This was all so humbling. I really needed this trip to to the bakery to eat a whole portion of humble pie. For me, it was like someone smashed my face right into the humble pie, forcing me to gobble it up and accept that… I was not that good… At least, for that particular year in college.

But I showed some tenacity. I showed some heart. I just kept working at it, and soon enough – I became a beast when it came to English spelling and grammar. Yeah, I know. Dorky by all means. But that was what I was.

Again, you just have to hone in and nurture the stuff that you are appropriately competent at, even if it could be something random like basket weaving or shoe shining. Play to your strengths, if you want another way of looking at it.

Making the Effort
I feel like I am not pushing myself enough, and it shows.

I keep thinking I am just repeating myself over and over again, looping in a weird state.

Motivation, an idea, an attempt to complete said idea, motivation decreases, motivation, an idea…

Something like this.

Without sugarcoating it, I am cycling through a personal series of horrible efficiency. In the end, not much gets done the way I would like to get done, if anything for that matter.

It sucks. It really does suck. I want to talk a big game and get my life on track. I want to reach that next stage, but I know I am being lazy and just not putting in the right amount of effort to make anything possible.

You wouldn’t just expect a plant to grow on its own without care, so why should I keep thinking that I will magically sprout into successful perfection overnight without lifting a finger?

I need to shatter the barriers I place before myself with some rage. Rage in the sense that I am I should be a little mad at myself for dragging my heels for so long. Rage in the sense that this pattern is enabled to repeat because I let it.

Who is really stopping me but myself? What force from the universe is anchoring my progress in place?

Nothing.

It’s all me.

I keep coming across stories where people get past way worse than what I am going through, so it just makes me feel like a baby by comparison.

An incapable baby who needs to be coddled…It sickens me.

I think this disgust is just one of many ingredients I will need to put together toward my recipe for success. Someday, I hope to to taste what real success is like when I finally find the right balance.

The winning recipe is a tricky one. I better put my chef jacket on for this job. It’s going to get messy.

2 thoughts on “The 54th Deadline: Talent”

I don’t think the universe would be that fair. Some people have luck, some don’t. However without an effort, no amount of talent helps, so I’m rather on the side of work hard for what you want to be good at, and stop wasting time to find something that doesn’t seem like an effort.

Yes, I agree. I don’t think the universe owes anyone a favor. I don’t think anyone necessarily should get what they want to fall in their laps per se. Therefore, I firmly believe in the process of figuring out and working toward being good at something, whatever that may be.